RISS experts meet representatives of the Japanese Embassy

Meeting with Japanese military attaché to Russia, Colonel Kazuya Ono and Naval Attaché Captain First Rank Siro Sugiura was held at the Russian Institute for Strategic Studies on July 19, 2016. RISS was represented by senior research fellow of the Centre for Asia and the Middle East V. Svedentsov and research fellows of the Asian sector Y. Kryachkina and M. Zelenkova.

During an open exchange of views was covered a wide range of issues on security problems in the Asia-Pacific region (APR) and bilateral relations between Russia and Japan. Special attention was paid to the situation development in the South China Sea (SCS) and estimation of its development prospects.

The meeting participants agreed that any escalation of the conflict in the South China Sea and military methods of its solving are unacceptable. There is a risk of so-called “accidental conflict” at the moment, although close economic ties between the countries of the region are deterrent to the worsening situation. The Russian experts stressed that the countries involved in territorial disputes are responsible for addressing South China Sea issues, and interference of third parties, in particular, the United States, not directly related to the situation in the region, is unacceptable.

In addition, experts expressed the general opinion on the need to maintain positive recent trends in Russian-Japanese relations and the continuation of bilateral dialogue at all levels.